I'm a little confused.
After driving by Imperial Garden, and time after time seeing a packed parking lot, I finally tried the place. It's basically the typical Americanized, overpriced sit-down Chinese restaurant. Why so many cars and why so many people eating there? I'm not sure.
The BBQ pork in our appetizer was almost cold and chewy. (Was it supposed to be jerky?) Other items on the appetizer platter were okay, but lacked seasoning.
Our entrees weren't much better. The sweet-and-sour sauce was more like sweet-and-strange sauce. The very odd thing about the sauce was that it was too sweet. (And I'm someone with a sweet tooth and then some!) The sauce seemed sort of like a red version of corn syrup. Just very weird.
The sweet-and-sour chicken entree came with the usual -- chicken, peppers, onions, pineapples -- and maraschino cherries. I only want to see and see those with a milkshake. As part of a dinner entree? No, no.
I am still scratching my head as to why this place has a full parking lot and why it has won some of the "Best of Madison" awards.
PS: Our server was nice!